Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1887-11-02
INDIAN VENGEANCE.
The Shadow of Death Creeping Under ths
shadow of Morning.

The Shadow of Death Creeping Under the
Shadow of Morning.
Soldiers, hunters, scouts, emigrants, In
dians-all are drinking and brawling at
the fort, writes NJ. Quad in the Detroit
Free Press, describing a border incident.
The Indians drink deeply, but are more
quiet They are the best behaved of the
lot.
Suddenly there is a cry and shot. A
half-drunken scout has had row with
redskin and fred upon him. He had the
savage at disadvantage. 1t was a word
and shot, and as the crowd opens little
the young warrior is seen standing with
one arm across his breast and look of
defiance on his face. His other arm hangs
by his side, broken by the bullet
The redskin is more treacherous than the
serpent, but he never forgives treachery in
any one else. He recognizes in the scout
an old enemy, and he realizes that the
affair was put up to kill him off hand.
How his eyes snap! How his muscles
work. How his chest heaves as the pain
maddenS him? He looks from man to man
and back at his would-be murderer, and
then turns his back on the crowd and
w alks out Of the stockade and over the
hills.
"Better look ont for the varmint :" is the
warning uttered by hunter with snow
white hair. "He will take your trail aud
cling to it until he wipes you out. Nothing
but death can satisfy his vengeance"
W hen the scout became sober and knew
what hs had done he realized the force of
the old mans words. Hencefo, th, wax
Ing or sleeping, menace must follow him
very hour of his life. He must either kill
or Toe killed.
The days ran past aud the incident was
forgotten by all save one. 1t was season
Of peace, and one less or one more Indian
at the Fort attracted no attention. If any
one locked in vain for the young warrior,
who had the blood of great chief in his
veins, they made no remark or inquiry.
The scouts had Little to do for couple of
months, but then came an alarm A band
OF warriors had broken away from their
reservation and were raiding the settlers.
MessenI ers We're sent here and there in
hot haste, and the scout with the shadow
of death across his path went his way
alone.
Men must be brave who are scouts 1t is
a work which needs nerve and true cour-
age. The menace haunted the man as he
rode forth. "He will kill you! He will kill
you" kept ringing in his ears, but he
halted not. Had he known that a score of
Indians sought his life he would have gone
just the same. As he rode away In the
bright sunshine of MONDAY he swept the
plain around him with his keen glance.
and then strange look settled on his face.
1t was the look which comes To the human
face when the mind realizes a great dan
ger, but is prepared to die fighting to the
last.
Hardly had the scout passed beyond the
Stockadc when Vengeance was ready to
take his trail. The Indian is untiring.
He is implacable. The wounded warrior
had been in hiding for days and DAYS, and
his watching and waiting were at last
rewarded. When the scout had passed
ont of sight over the ridge the shadow
OF death took up his trail. He
had been told TO ride fast: the pursuer
was aioot. 1t seemed absurd to believe
the scout had cause to fear the dusky war
rior who was left miles behind. The race
had begun. The one rides like the wind.
The other follows at an even pace-a pace
that reminds you of his implacable hate.
AT the second mile the scout had To n. alte
a crescent to avoid n mass of rocks. The
Indian cut across the angle and saved n
few rods. He had gained two hundred
feet on his victim. Intuition told him the
destination of the scout. Instinct guided
him to make short cuts and pick up the
trail again. Here the iron hoofs of the
horse were plain on the turf-there only
the eyes of an Indian could see that a BODY
had passed. For hours and hours the pace
never changed He looked neither to the
right nor left-cared for neither bird nor
beast-for shrub or rock or serpent-for
only one thing in the whole world-ven-
geance. Noon found him keeping his pace
might found him keeping the trail with
the grim fprOCitU NJ N
1t was only when night fairly settled
down that he halted beside a rock, ate a
few mouthfulls of food, and curled himself
up Tor nap. Two hours later the rim of
1ull moon showed above the plain, and
ITS hrst rays had scarcely been cast when
the warrior opened his eyes, sprang to his
feet, and was away on the trail again.
Hour after hour he followed it-hour by
hour the night grew old and faded into
day. When daylight came the track was
fresher. While the scout slept death had
made decided gain. The second day
passed as the other.
On the morning of the third a mist Law
over plain and valley and hill. 1t arose
from the brown turf-from the huge
rocks-from the thickets of cedar
and hr on the ragged hillsides
Ihe eye Of neither man nor beast nor
blrd could penetrate that curtain of morn
ing. After midnight the Indian had
slackened his pace. As morning drew
nearer his head was held more erect and
his eyes carried a new light. As the dav
struggled to break through the mist tho
warrior halted, loosened his knife and
tomahawk, and then sank down on hands
and knees and crept under the black cloud.
as the wary panther goes forward to sur
prise his prey. His keen scent had located
Ire. His quick ear had detected the
movements of a horse.
Creep-creep-creep. The shadow of
death under the shadow of the morn
n&' A hare listening for her life
would not have been frightened into
run. The scout Law sieepinp with
hls face to the smouldering fire. The
chirp of the crickets which had sounded
IL his cars all night was at last interrupt,
ed, but he was not awakened, There is an
intuition which sometimes warns men Of
great danger. It came to the sleeDinp
scout, but It came too late. As he opened
his eyes the shadow lowered over him.
lie saw II and recognized it, but there
was no time for word of prayer or shout
OF defiance.
Quavering ON the morning nlist-rend-
Ing the fieecy curtain as it rose higher
and higher, ard grew stronger and
stronger-came the war-whoop of an In
dian. An insult had been wiped out in
blood. Vengeance had been satisfied.
The Origin of Kissing.
There is a Scandinavian tradition 10 the
effect that kissing was first introduced
into England by Rowena. the beautiful
daughter Of Hengist. Again IN Crom
Wells time, when the banished Cavendish
visited a French nobleman at his own
chateau, the mistress OF the housa at taa